The present invention relates generally to bow sights and more specifically it relates to a modular and interchangeable type bow sight mounting system for providing an archery sighting system which eliminates the need for a peep sight while assisting the archer in maintaining consistent form to circumvent bow torque.
Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
When a person decides to take up the sport of archery the two required items are the projectile, or arrow, and the mechanism to launch the projectile, the bow. Everything else is an accessory. The present invention generally relates to one of the more important accessories for the archery equipment. More particularly, this invention is related to a bow mounted sighting mechanism which can be used to accurately aim the bow at a target thereby improving the shooting accuracy of the archer.
It has long been recognized that a bow is a difficult weapon to shoot with consistent accuracy. There are two primary systems archers employ in aiming to produce consistent accuracy. The most basic system, or method, is “instinct”. Instinct shooters rely on both their shooting experience and their familiarity with their equipment to compensate for the various accuracy influencing factors. Instinct shooting requires a tremendous amount of practice and concentration to be effective. When hunting, the adrenaline of the moment can dramatically influence concentration and aiming at the target becomes considerably more difficult resulting in a complete miss, or worse a poor shot.
The second system the archer may use to improve accuracy is to purchase one of the numerous types of bow sights on the market. Bow sights enable the archer to more consistently hold the bow in the same orientation for a shot at a given distance. The bow sight mounts to the riser of the bow and the sight houses one or more sight pins. The pins are vertically spaced from one another and are individually set by the archer so that each pin corresponds with a predetermined distance to the target.
A problem with this system of alignment device is that the pins each provide only a single reference point to be used in connection with aiming of the bow. What often happens is the orientation or attitude of the bow is altered between successive shots at the same distances so that, merely using the same sight pin will not always result in an accurate shot. This realization has lead to the development of what are herein referred to as secondary sights.
Perhaps the most commonly known secondary sight is the bow string mounted “peep” sight. During its use, the peep is mounted to the bow string and once the bow string is drawn, the archer looks through the peep sight to align the appropriate sight pin on the target. Although generally considered to be better than a single front pin, these systems also have their disadvantages and limitations. One limitation is the difficulty with which a peep is mounted to the bow string so that it will consistently offer a clear view of the sight pins and the target. Another problem, and often more significant, is that when looking through the small aperture of the peep, the amount of light available to the archer for viewing the pin and the target is significantly diminished thereby often drastically inhibiting vision of the target. This is compounded by the fact that the best hunting times are generally considered to occur during the marginal light conditions of dawn and dusk. As the archer ages his/her near-vision usually diminishes compounding further the problems associated with peep sights. The archer then has a tendency to “look over” the peep as adrenaline takes over when aiming at a live target in order to acquire a better view of the target. Looking over the peep is often the cause for a complete miss at a live target. If the archer has both eyes open the low light condition created by the peep can transfer the normally dominate eye to the opposite eye altering the point of impact so much so that the target is completely missed. A solution for low light availability of peep sights is to use a larger peep. However, the larger the peep the more room for sighting error and a less accurate shot results.
Whether a peep is used or not, another aiming problem arises when the archer torques the bow slightly. If the bow is gripped differently or the archer squeezes the handle of the bow, “torque” is produced and is observable at the target as a left or right miss. Bow torque on single sighting systems and single sighting systems in conjunction with a peep is not observable. Only after the arrow is released to the target and a left or right miss is observed is bow torque realized. This realization and the need to eliminate the low light problems associated with peep sights have lead to the development of alternate variety of secondary sights.
An alternate variety of bow sight eliminates the peep and mounts a supplemental rear sight in combination with the front sight. While there are literally hundreds of traditional types of bow sights commercially available, each requiring a peep for best accuracy, there are only a few types of this alternate variety of rear bow sight commercially available. Rear sights in prior art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,724, have generally included movable parts and a cross hair sight which obstructed visibility of the forward sight and the target itself. This and prior art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,327 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,233, involving complicated aiming techniques, are not built rugged to withstand the occasional snag with brush or other abuse without damage. Preliminary calculations using a torque formula indicate it would take 85 to 125 pounds of force to bend the windage adjustment of the aforementioned bow sights if mounted an inch from the mounting plate. Other prior art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,665 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,301 use a single string or cable on the rear sight which only allow for windage adjustment. Still a another prior art of this rear sight variety, application Ser. No. 11/482,381, while twice as costly as the other two, lacks the spatial accuracy as the other designs by mounting both sighting apparatus in close proximity and in front of the bow riser. This last design also appears cluttered as it obscures much of the viewing area of the target with crosshair, aperture, and pin combination.
This invention was developed to address a number of issues associated with other sights and sighting systems. Many manufacturers of front only mounted bow sights have switched from horizontally mounted pins to vertically mounted pins. The advantage of a vertical mounted pin is a clear, unobstructed view of the target. U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,724 and application Ser. No. 11/482,381 use rear crosshair sights and U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,327 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,233 uses a v-notch rear sight. This invention uses two rear opposing vertical pins in combination with a single front pin. Also, a single pin, desired by many archers, helps eliminate clutter associated with multiple pins. The two rear vertical pins could be used as additional yardage sights with the upper used for shorter distances and the lower for longer distances. As previously stated, the windage adjustments on other inventions were deemed inadequate for strength; this invention addressed this issue by using a mass to withstand over 700 pounds of torque. Circular rings housing pins are used because the human eye naturally gravitates to the center. This invention uses circular rings for the front and rear to aid in alignment. The combination front and rear vertical pins accomplish two more issues: the low light problems and alignment issues associated with peep sights, as stated earlier, allow the archer to eliminate the peep and thus eliminate those low light and alignment issues; bow torque is observed before the archer releases the arrow to the target eliminating left and right misses. Finally, this invention addresses two issues not addressed in other sights: all in-field adjustments for windage and elevation are accomplished with a single tool; this invention, without alteration, can be installed on either a left-hand or right-hand bow with the front windage, elevation, and pin sight assembly and mounting system parts being identical, interchangeable, and can be considered modular.
While the examples given are illustrative of some of the sights which have been developed to assist an archer in improving shooting accuracy, they all generally either fail to permit adequate sighting during low light shooting conditions or are not built to withstand the rugged outdoors. With so few commercially rear sight in combination with the front sight options available there is obviously still a need in the field of this invention for an improved bow sight which can be used to more accurately aim the bow at a target, without complicating the shooting process, and without further compromising vision during low light situations of dusk and dawn, rugged enough to withstand the abuse it may endure, and make field adjustments with a single tool. The intention of the invention, as outlined, was to build a bow sight to eliminate the use of a peep, have an unobstructed view of the target, and to have a sight which was essentially impervious from damage. After numerous prototypes the realization of this invention had qualities not seen in other archery sights. Additionally, the symmetry and interchangeability of parts are unique to this invention.